The present invention relates generally to antennas, and more particularly, to a multiband jamming antenna for use with radio frequency (RF) jamming systems, and the like.
During military conflicts, and particularly in the middle-East, service personnel and noncombatants have been killed and injured by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used by insurgents. The improvised explosive devices are remotely detonated using RF signals transmitted by handheld RF transmitters. In order to counteract the improvised explosive devices, the military has used active jamming devices to jam the transmitted RF signals intended to detonate the devices.
Conventional wideband jamming antennas typically cover a 20 MHz to 3 GHz frequency range. These conventional wideband jamming antennas typically employ two antennas to provide adequate gain and antenna pattern performance across the operating frequency bandwidth. Since the conventional wideband jamming systems require two antennas on each vehicle, more vehicle real estate is required to mount the antennas which is undesirable. It would also be desirable to provide improved performance using only one antenna.
There is a need for an improved jamming antenna that allows wideband coverage while minimizing the number of antennas and real estate required for mounting it on a vehicle.